Sean Wooler, Health Editor, Daily Mail
Updated on June 19, 2024 at 00:01, June 19, 2024 at 00:01
A shocking report has revealed that the NHS is spending £6 billion a year on diabetes-related complications such as amputations and blindness.
Diabetes UK has warned that many problems are avoidable and has called for the health service to shift its focus “from crisis response to preventive care”.
Charities say this will reduce harm to patients living with the disease and bring down its extremely high costs.
Diabetes UK estimates that more than 4.4 million people in the UK have diabetes, and a further 1.2 million may have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity.
Every week, diabetes is responsible for 2,990 cases of heart failure, more than 930 strokes, 660 heart attacks and 184 amputations.
To reduce the risk of complications, patients should self-manage their condition with regular support from a healthcare professional.
However, the data shows that 1.6 million people with diabetes in England missed out on all eight tests they were due in 2022/23.
New research commissioned by Diabetes UK and carried out by economists at the University of York estimates that the direct cost of diabetes to the NHS in 2021/22 will be £10.7 billion.
This represents 6% of the UK’s total health budget, up from £9.8 billion in 2012.
In 2012, about 80% of these costs were due to diabetes-related complications, such as kidney, eye, circulatory and nerve damage.
Improved blood sugar control has reduced this figure to 60% in 2021, the most recent data available, but it still means the NHS is spending £6.2 billion a year on “potentially preventable complications”, Diabetes UK said.
The remaining approximately £4.4 billion was spent on diagnosis, GP consultations, eye tests, blood tests, medication, support programmes and specialist diabetes teams.
The scholars called on health authorities to “continue to invest in diabetes prevention, care and treatment through population-level interventions in addition to individual-level approaches to reduce the costs of future complications.”
It also warned that unless steps are taken to reduce the number of people developing type 2 diabetes and improve outcomes for everyone living with the disease, the total annual cost to the NHS could soar to £18 billion by 2035.
Colette Marshall, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said the study “paints a stark reality”.
“These complications cause immense suffering to thousands of people and are, in most cases, preventable with proper care,” she added. “Proper care for people with diabetes can save limbs, eyesight and lives.”
“But despite some progress, too many people still lack access to treatment and develop diabetes complications.”
“Shifting the focus from crisis to preventive care will reduce the harms caused by diabetes and enable people with diabetes to live healthier lives, while ultimately reducing the costs of health services.”
Last year, scientists said diabetes was likely to “surge sharply” in every country and among all age groups.
According to a study published in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, the number of people with diabetes will reach approximately 1.3 billion by 2050, more than double the 529 million in 2021.
Earlier this month Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, said the number of people under 40 at risk of developing type 2 diabetes had risen by a quarter in the last year.
The latest national diabetes audit found that in 2023, 3.6 million patients registered with their GP will have pre-diabetes – blood sugar levels above the normal range but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.
This represents an increase of 549,000, or 18%, compared to the previous 12 months.
The population under 40 rose by almost a quarter, from 173,166 in 2022 to 216,440 last year.
Nick Hex, deputy director for NHS and public sector at the York Health Economics Consortium, said: “Diabetes is a serious and debilitating disease that affects people on a daily basis on many different levels.”
“It remains extremely costly for the NHS and the majority of those costs are still spent on preventable complications.”
“Increased investment in new medicines and technologies to improve people’s management of the condition is contributing to the ongoing rise in costs, but the rise in type 2 diabetes among people under 40 is of particular concern and requires a continued focus on prevention strategies.”
